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Influence of annealing temperature on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of nanocrystalline NiO and Cu-doped NiO thin films and its application in acetone gas sensing

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Abstract

In this research, the nanocrystalline pure and Cu-doped NiO (NiO:Cu) films were prepared by reactive DC magnetron sputtering onto silicon and quartz substrates. The effect of annealing temperature on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of prepared samples was thoroughly investigated by different identification methods. The XRD results verified the formation of NiO in a cubic structure with (200) preferred orientation, and the crystallite size was reduced compared to the undoped sample. The optical investigation showed a decrease in the optical band gap of NiO:Cu films compared with the pure NiO films. The PL spectra of all samples after annealing reveal three characteristic peaks with different intensities at 421, 488, and 538 nm. FESEM images reveal that the surface morphology is homogeneous with good adhesion to the substrate. The electrical measurements showed that the sheet resistance of NiO film decreased after Cu doping. Additionally, the ability of NiO and NiO:Cu films to sense acetone gas concentrations in terms of the time working and the different temperatures were studied and reported. The results exhibited that the samples can detect the acetone gas at different temperatures however, the NiO sample was more sensitive to acetone relative to NiO:Cu.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was carried out with the support of the Islamic Azad University, Karaj branch. The authors would like to express their profound gratitude to Mrs Saadat Niavol for her valuable assistance in sensor analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

    Elnaz Feyzi, Fatemeh Hajakbari & Alireza Hojabri

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  1. Elnaz Feyzi
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  2. Fatemeh Hajakbari
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  3. Alireza Hojabri
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. The processing of data was performed by all authors. All authors discussed the results and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fatemeh Hajakbari.

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Feyzi, E., Hajakbari, F. & Hojabri, A. Influence of annealing temperature on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of nanocrystalline NiO and Cu-doped NiO thin films and its application in acetone gas sensing. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 971 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10346-5

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